Another cold start; another piss-poor outing; another undue truck of bricks slung about a bum shoulder. As in Game 6 in Boston, Melo played the first quarter in as measured a manner as possible – even if he was hitting the wall beside the dartboard. As the game ground on, however, the onus to match Indy’s uncharacteristically fluid attack became too much to resist. The result: Smart, purposeful takes that yielded few whistle fruits, and a mushrooming frustration that eventually took Melo – and by extension, everyone else – completely out of rhythm.

On the bright side, David West didn’t rip his left arm out with his teeth, and Melo looked generally OK physically. Save for the three dozen times he bulldozed into the lane, only to be clobbered by flailing meat limbs. Usually in the face.

The Cult of Shump has been nearly two years in the making, but Iman’s Game 6 performance in Boston (I don’t remember the stats but I do remember licking my computer screen with the JET .gif playing on an endless loop) solidified him as perhaps the biggest X-factor for the Knicks moving forward. Today’s offering, though spotty, made for a rare silver lining: He was superb on D, knocked down some big open shots, and didn’t hesitate to use his quickness in the lane. After a solid first half, Woodson elected to hold Shump out for much of the third, and then the start of the fourth – this despite J.R. Smith chucking puke bombs and Kidd running around looking very noticeably old. For the Knicks to thrive, Trust in Shump must become a mantra.

Heading into the series, one of the major themes bandied about the webnets was how well Chandler had contained Hibbert over the past couple of seasons. So much for that. A spry beginning – active on D, violent on a couple of throwdowns at the other end – devolved into an extended disappearing act. Which isn’t entirely his fault; the Knicks got away from what worked. Still, the mammoth rebounding deficit has to be addressed. Not that Tyson closes that gap alone, but seriously, three rebounds? Sam Young played six minutes, turned the ball over four hundred times, and still managed to grab two.

That Raymond Felton has suddenly become our most consistent – and most efficient – offensive player is a narrative I’m not sure Chuck Kauffman could handle scripting, but damnit if it doesn’t work. In the early going, Ray orchestrated a purposed, effective attack on high and side P&Rs. He got a few floaters to fall, hit the weak side open man for spot-up looks, and had the Indy interior on their heels early. But save for a few jumpers in the second half, Ray served mostly as a conduit for Melo and Earl’s would-be heroics. On the one hand, you take solace in knowing you can go back to what works. On the other, you manage the gut-sinking thought that it’ll be far too late before Woodson ever figures it out.

Speaking of conduits, that was Pablo’s sole function this afternoon. The six assists were welcome, and he did a decent job staying in front of George and Stephenson on the other end. At the same time, it’s hard to see how or where Pablo fits in this series going forward. Personally, I think more of his minutes need to go to Shump; he of the superior athleticism, jump shot, defense, hair, snarl, teeth, and collection of scalps.

When Kenyon Martin is your most efficient weapon, you have problems. Granted, the shots he hit – a 20-foot jumper, deft one-hander in the lane, a couple of throwdowns – have to be considered found money, at this point. On D, Martin struggled a bit in the post against Hibbert and West, although he did provide a few memorable moments of help (that block on George tho). Still, the same lecture we gave Chandler applies here: Three rebounds in 25 minutes?

Mike Woodson is so fucking weird. You want to give Novak’s minutes to Copeland? Fine. But here’s the thing: If Novak had hit his first three, Woody would’ve ridden him for at least 12 minutes. He struggled a bit on D, but did goad West into an offensive foul in the third – just minutes after Cope nailed his second three to cut the game to 10. With STAT’s status uncertain and scoring priced beyond a premium, Woodson has to learn to trust more in Cope to provide some quality minutes off the pine.

By now we’ve all caught wind: J.R. was out at the 40-40 Club taking in the Mayweather fight and probably a bunch of booze late last night. Far be it from me to lambast a dude for wanting to blow off steam. I spent one Cinco de Mayo taking shot after shot of bad tequila and attempting to play kickball blindfolded. But if you know the heat’s been on you (he absolutely does), why? Seriously, why? Chris Herring dug into this a few weeks back, but it’s a well-known fact that Earl’s been at his worst on Sundays. Like, significantly worse. That can’t be cooincidence. It just can’t.

Four Things We Saw

The Knicks mined some early success from pushing the tempo and capitalizing on the Pacers’ propensity for dribbling the ball off their own faces and feet. The result was a five point lead at the end of the first, and positive signs abound. But with Melo bench-bound and the Pacers rolling with their core, Indy quickly snatched the lead mid-way through the second, and never looked back. They say basketball is a game of runs, but it’s also a game of wills; and Indy won that game by technical punk out.

Much has been made of whether, when, and how often the Knicks would look to match Indy’s size and interior strength by rolling with Chandler, Kenyon, and Camby (?) in various tandems. Well, the early returns are Monopoly money with shit stains on them; the Pacers were able to completely stifle the Knick offense, while at the other end patiently moving the ball and finding the open shooter (usually D.J. Augustin) to help capture and build their lead.

Look, I’ve been cleansing for a week and just generally in a shitty mood, so I’mma be frank: If Melo continues to shoot the way he has (unlikely, though eminently possible), and Indy is able to control the pace and boards the way they did today (likely, thus eminently possible), this shit is over in six. The reason Miami solved the Indy riddle in last year’s second round was simple: They attacked relentlessly on offense, made Hibbert move, and matched the Pacers’ defensive intensity at the other end. Now, those are some pretty serious ingredients. This ain’t no Duncan Heinz boxed cake mix. The defense part – that’s the flour. What’s more fickle (and what hasn’t been easy) is finding the will to trust, formally and finally, in what works. Even if you want to boil it down the truism that “Melo got us here,” that’s still a mantra devoid of context. Moving the ball, using the pick-and-roll, finding the open man, and – failing all that – finding Melo in the last seven or eight seconds of the shot clock. That’s the context.

I still think we take this series. Win Tuesday, steal Game 3, and we’re back to square one. Doing so won’t be easy; these guys eat bones for breakfast and practice rebounding with human heads. But neither was 50 wins. Neither was withstanding that fucked up run in Game 6. Easy don’t pay. When I read some of the post-game locker room quotes — “They just played harder;” “Forget the Xs and the Os” — I want to drive my eye sockets into a table corner. To chalk up your failures to intangibles, to things that can in no way be quantified? That’s fucking mysticism. It’s chicanery. Not to mention lazy and wrong. One of two things is going on here: Either Woodson knows what the problem is, and refuses to call it what it is for fear of making Melo mad; or they all genuinely believe this shit. Both are genuinely terrifying.

46 comments on “Pacers 102, Knicks 95”

I was at the game (section 119) and it is impossible to overstate how horrible Danny Crawford was. This was Tim Donahy level horrible. He made at least 6 egregious calls that all went against the Knicks. His animus against the Mavs is well known. He cost the Knicks the services of ‘Melo in the first half and Tyson Chandler throughout the game. The fifth foul on Chandler was as horrible as any call in a ridiculous movie-of-the-week. They would not have put a call that bad in Teen Wolf 5.

We got bad JR Smith for the first three quarters. I do not know if his Mayweather-watching had anything to do with it. I am positive that the lack of a whistle on his forays to the hoop were a big part of his failure.

I agree with almost everything in this recap. It really bothers me when a professional athlete gets shit faced or whatever during the season and worse, during the playoffs. The precision needed to physically and mentally execute can be thrown off, even just a bit, by any kind of substance abuse. That small difference, a deficit in concentration, can just simply kill performance. I loved Doc Gooden so much and I watched what cocaine did to him and his game. I hope it is not true, but I have long thought JR has some kind of problem that goes beyond the late night carousing. Whether it’s booze or drugs is irrelevant. I also don’t understand how a coach, GM, or owner can put up with kind of stuff. It is such selfish and immature behavior…rant over.

What’s more fickle (and what hasn’t been easy) is finding the will to trust, formally and finally, in what works. Even if you want to boil it down the truism that “Melo got us here,” that’s still a mantra devoid of context. Moving the ball, using the pick-and-roll, finding the open man, and – failing all that – finding Melo in the last seven or eight seconds of the shot clock. That’s the context.—-

Shaken Baby inducing head nod, slow clap so hard i give myself a boxer’s fracture, 1970’s aretha Franklin sangin “Amen” in the background. you have hit the nail on the proverbial head. when the going gets tough, the Knicks need to stop resorting to what is easy and most definately suicidal

Indy really did play harder across the full 48 to my untrained eye. I get that it’s cliche, but New York seemed a little flat emotionally. I wouldn’t call that mysticism. Effort and attention to detail vary at times for every team, but this was on the low end for NY. I’m not altogether surprised with the emotional toll of the prior series.

From a basketball standpoint, I’d like to see two things:

1. Close out, dammit. Indiana hit 8 triples. Augustine hit 4 of them–in under 13 minutes. Every shot he took was WIDE OPEN. That better not happen again.

2. Go back to Chandler as the screener on the high pnr. Going to Melo as the screener was a good idea to keep KG from destroying the play. We need to get Hibbert on the move.

ephus:
I was at the game (section 119) and it is impossible to overstate how horrible Danny Crawford was.This was Tim Donahy level horrible.He made at least 6 egregious calls that all went against the Knicks.His animus against the Mavs is well known.He cost the Knicks the services of ‘Melo in the first half and Tyson Chandler throughout the game.The fifth foul on Chandler was as horrible as any call in a ridiculous movie-of-the-week.They would not have put a call that bad in Teen Wolf 5.

We got bad JR Smith for the first three quarters.I do not know if his Mayweather-watching had anything to do with it.I am positive that the lack of a whistle on his forays to the hoop were a big part of his failure.

Could not agree more. I’d argue the Knicks were the more aggressive team in 1st half and yet still only shot 5 FTs. We were down 10 when Melo picked up #5 and ended quarter down 16. Hibbert averages 5.9 fouls per 48, Melo 4.0. I’ll bet big money we dont see another game like that for the rest of the series. ONE additional foul on Hibbert in 1st half changes EVERYTHING. Melo couldnt guard anyone in the 4th, because of foul trouble. When 2 teams are relatively evenly matched THESE THINGS MATTER.

Solution is simple – stick with game plan, be aggressive, and hope Tyson Chandler shows up, which I think he does.

DCrockett17:
2. Go back to Chandler as the screener on the high pnr. Going to Melo as the screener was a good idea to keep KG from destroying the play. We need to get Hibbert on the move.

Yes, but we need someone other than Danny Crawford making the calls. Felton and ‘Melo got mugged throughout the first half (when the Knicks were coming towards my section) every time they went to the hoop. Crawford had zero whistle. Pacers just got away with murder until the fourth quarter.

‘Melo got until foul trouble in large part because he was not getting the whistle when he took the ball to the hole. Smith lagged during the third quarter because he was not getting the whistle when he took the ball to the hole. I have been to over 200 Knick games in my life. That was the worst officiated game I ever attended.

Final point, someone needs to get dropped from the series for the “inadvertent whistle” in the fourth quarter that cost the Knicks a turnover. The 24 second clock got to 15 before the Pacers got the ball across the timeline. Plus the Pacers PG clearly carried the ball back into the backcourt. After the over-and-back was called, the refs huddled and reversed the call. The 24 second clock was still at 15. That was impossible not to be a turnover.

I took my 10 year old daughter to the game. It was her first playoff game (15th overall game). She learned how to ride a ref today, major bonding experience. Here was her takeaway, “Either the refs were rooting for the Pacers, or they do not know very much about basketball.”

Shumpert played 33 minutes today. I don’t think the Knicks should risk him playing more at this point. He has a really bright future in my opinion.
Jr’s self destructive behavior cannot be stopped by him or anybody esle. Knicks need to let him go, but they probably won’t. We’ve all seen this movie before. It ends badly.
Indiana is going to put George on Carmelo no matter what, so we might as well go big to fight them on the boards. We need Amare back as soon as possible.

In the few years that I’ve been here on this board I’ve tried to cultivate a mindset to where I stop making excuses for this team, so I’m trying desperately hard to resist the urge to blame the refs here, but it’s really hard when you see so many times where they go to the rim and get mugged with no whistle and then the next time up the court the announcers have to talk about what a horrible shot player X is taking. And I really do wish our players did have more poise and didn’t let these things take them out of games but it’s got to be frustrating. If that’s lebron making the same moves to the hole he would have gone to the ft line twice as much as Melo. I mean ffs Melo missed a dunk because he couldn’t see the rim because hibberts hand was smacking him in the friggin face. I mean how do you miss shit like that?

I think that we’ll snap out of it and shoot better and hopefully rebound better (although I doubt we’ll outrebound Indiana in any game this round). And I do believe we’ll win this series and I always thought it was going to go 6 or 7 games so I’m not gonna lose my mind over one game. But if the rest of this series is going to be called the way this game was called then it’s probably a wrap.

I think also Melo might be hurt a little more than it’s being let on. The last time he was this off shooting was right before he had to get his knee drained. He had 3-4 dreadful shooting nights and then as soon as he got that drained he went ape shit. If that is the case then it’s not good seeing as we can’t afford to have him out right now (although it’s more likely his shoulder than his knee). I just know that he was money for like a month and a half and all of a sudden his shot is just gone. Has to be more to it than good defense. He’s not having a lot of near misses, his misses are incredibly inaccurate. Idk, really hope it’s not serious.

As I mentioned in the game thread last night I said I thought each team will win 1 on the road leaving the series tied 2-2. I still believe that will happen but man it wouldve been alot easier to handle losing Game 2 than Game 1 because now all of a sudden Game 2 is a must win and we are really going to be on edge Tuesday night lol.

We have seen them play much more focused, I believe the whole team is tired of iso melo and bad jr but I have no excuse for chandler to play this lackluster and for the coach to let this continue…the rebounding issue is bizarre even if he is scared to take a foul he has to get more than 3 rebounds if we get him his buckets though he would lively up his activity which is fucking annoying but on the real melo is fucking up big time and is taking the ball up the court with no intention on doing anything that consistently results in getting the team in a flow.

About Copeland, the grade was too low. Woodson is going to play him if, and only if, Mahimi is in the game. But Copeland did a GREAT job looking up Mahimi the one time he tried to post up. Knicks bench went nuts celebrating after the possession.

Watched some postgame stuff on MSG.com and found it very interesting what Ewing had to say about playing 2 bigs or Melo at PF.

Trautwig asked him if he would play bigger more (even brought up playing Camby more) and Ewing said no he would keep Melo at PF. Said the Knicks need to push the tempo on offense to get better looks at 3pters and said he would use Melo more in the PnR as the ballhandler to attack Hibbert and force him to defend him on the move rather than allowing him to basically wait for him by the basket.

I was actually quite stunned to hear Ewing say this. Figured he would give an old school answer and say yes they have to play bigger. I guess I shouldnt be too surprised since he did work for Stan Van Gundy in Orlando.

I hate that everybody is letting Amar’e off the hook. This is when we need him to earn his $20 mill a year the most — the playoffs. We finally have a very good team and this guy is MIA. He’s busy having surgery and rehabbing for the ENTIRE season. Now we’re matched up against a bigger, stronger team, and our glaring lack of size and strength is a void that Amar’e can help fill. Last I heard he was expected back if we made it to the 2nd round. Well, hello, here we are — where are you Amar’e?? Fuck all that Game 3 talk, we need him NOW!

ephus: I was at the game (section 119) and it is impossible to overstate how horrible Danny Crawford was. This was Tim Donahy level horrible. He made at least 6 egregious calls that all went against the Knicks. His animus against the Mavs is well known. He cost the Knicks the services of ‘Melo in the first half and Tyson Chandler throughout the game. The fifth foul on Chandler was as horrible as any call in a ridiculous movie-of-the-week. They would not have put a call that bad in Teen Wolf 5.

I would like to add my voice to those echoing Ephus.

Was at the game and pretty much in the best seats I’ve ever had, so I got to see a lot up close. I’m not typically one to complain about the refs, but WOW this officiating just seemed bush league at best.

Calls were reversed and then reversed again. A call for offensive basket interference was followed by a reply in which nobody touched the rim or the net. It just went on and on. It did seem like our guys didn’t catch a break and that in this physical game, that really mattered.

One more negative point. It was very clear from up close that Carmelo is really hurt. He’s playing through it, but we need JR and Chandler to step up more than they have.

That being said, I’m not as down as everyone else. We are getting quality work out of Felton, Shump, and the Prig. Sometimes even Copeland. If they can keep that up and one of the first three enter into the game, we still have a pretty formidable team.

bctw:
I hate that everybody is letting Amar’e off the hook. This is when we need him to earn his $20 mill a year the most — the playoffs. We finally have a very good team and this guy is MIA. He’s busy having surgery and rehabbing for the ENTIRE season. Now we’re matched up against a bigger, stronger team, and our glaring lack of size and strength is a void that Amar’e can help fill. Last I heard he was expected back if we made it to the 2nd round. Well, hello, here we are — where are you Amar’e?? Fuck all that Game 3 talk, we need him NOW!

It’s not like he WANTS to be injured. People don’t bust amare’s balls as much because when he’s on the floor he gives u quality minutes and hustle. He’s not at the 40/40 or WIP the nights before a game.

Alot of people here have been complaining about Breen lately. I look at it 2 ways.

I think when he does their games nationally he goes out of his way not to be a homer. I think it makes it even harder doing the games with JVG because he was their coach the last time they were good and everyone watching the game most likely associates JVG with the Knicks. Any time they mention a game or player he coached with the Knicks you can tell how excited JVG gets talking about it. I guarantee if they did the games for MSG we would love them because of all the great stories and the love both obviously have for the Knicks.

That last sentence leads to my 2nd point, I think Breen loves the Knicks so much and is such a big fan he gets frustrated with them and his fandom sneaks into his announcing at times. I personally like Breen alot especially with Clyde on MSG and JVG on ESPN/ABC. Having League Pass you really watch/listen to alot of horrible announcing teams. Knick fans are lucky to have Breen call most of their games.

Defense, defense, defense. The Knicks played horrific defense. They got chewed up in the paint and allowed way too many wide open, no-brainer 3’s. Indiana had an eFG% of like .530 or something– that’s why you lose, right there. Indiana is a team that should be struggling for baskets, not lighting you up for 100+ points in a game being played at a glacial pace.

I can see him not wanting to sound like a homer, but he seemed genuinely excited during that Celtic run. I also think he is exceedingly critical of Melo. I have always liked him previously, but this year I think he’s been bad. Much rather listen to him than Austin Carr or Tommy Heinsohn though.

Mike Breen has one of the greatest voices among all NBA announcers, but he is not much of an analyst. He’s never been much of an analyst. He’s basically Bob Costas, analysis-wise, and if everyone remembers what Costas was like as a basketball announcer, that’s Breen. Old school guy who has this idea of what a player should be and if you don’t fit into that exact mold, he’ll rip you apart. Melo does not fit into the mold of what a player should be in Breen’s mind.

However, yes, he also clearly loves the Knicks as a whole.

I’d much rather listen to guys like Breen than the homers we get on other teams, where the announcer is flat out rooting for “his” team. I like that Breen doesn’t do that. My only complaint about him is that he is too narrow-minded about players. But it is a small price to pay to avoid Stacey King and Tommy Heinsohn and the other terrible announcers in the NBA.

JR Smith has tweeted that he was not out clubbing on Saturday night. That is good enough for me. Bad JR, in my opinion, showed up in the first three quarters because he was frustrated that refs (Danny Crawford – I’m looking at you and your bank account) gave him, ‘Melo and the rest of the Knicks no whistle when they got hacked going to the hoop. Bad JR stopped rotating on defense, which led to lots of open corner 3s for the Pacers. Bad JR is not welcome in this series.

Always remember, there is nothing JR Smith cannot do on a basketball court AND there is nothing JR Smith will not do on basketball court. Still want him suiting up in the Orange and Blue.

I love JR too in many ways, but his tweet doesn’t answer my questions at all. I do hope I am totally wrong with my concerns. With respect to the refs, I think there are two issues. First the lousy calls. We can’t control those. We can control how we react to the calls. The team needs to suck it up and not react to every bad call with silly body language. No excuse for this behavior. It doesn’t help and actually hurts in mnay ways. Team needs to be a bit more stoic and get their heads in the game, not the whistle. Just play. It’s really enough already.

I do not remember Melo getting beat down by West. I can recall a a several baskets from West while he was being guarded by Shump, Martin, Cope and in transition. He didn’t out rebound Melo. I think Stevenson is the one that hurt more. He is a good rebounder and the guards must find him and box him out

You know, the freer looks JR got in the fourth quarter were from pushing the ball in semi-transition, which was he was doing a ton of earlier in the season. It bothered the hell out of me seeing Green and Terry doing that effectively against us last series, even when we were anticipating it, and there really isn’t a reason JR can’t do the same.

They key to this series really is to push the pace if we are going to continue small ball. That and attack Hibbert in the halfcourt from the start of the game.

I’d be interested in your score for Woodson. Coach has been puzzling me since midway through the last series. On the one hand, he clearly knows what it takes to win basketball games (he took a “clumsy” ensemble and turned them into a legitimate contender, after all). On the other hand, he’s been calling for iso plays on offense far more often than anyone would recommend, with predictably terrible results. Why is he calling for plays that are universally recognized as ineffective and lazy? And why is he sticking with those plays even after they’ve been proven to be ineffective and lazy instead of making the obvious adjustments (something he was quick to do in the first two games against Boston)? And what happened to holding people accountable on defense?
Why so weird, Woody?

Stephenson is one of the two players I am always angry about when it comes to Donnie Walsh, Jordan Hill over Ty Lawson, and the obvious burning of a draft pick for Andy Rautins over Stephenson (neither of these are second guesses, I was furious about both immediately).

anyway, to me the weak spots with this team were always going to be JR Smith and Woodson. Smith was incredible in April but has reverted at the worst possible time, and Woodson has been OK when he needs to be great. NY is lucky that these four mostly shitty games have come in two different series, or they’d likely be home by now.

BigBlueAL:
Watched some postgame stuff on MSG.com and found it very interesting what Ewing had to say about playing 2 bigs or Melo at PF.

Trautwig asked him if he would play bigger more (even brought up playing Camby more) and Ewing said no he would keep Melo at PF.Said the Knicks need to push the tempo on offense to get better looks at 3pters and said he would use Melo more in the PnR as the ballhandler to attack Hibbert and force him to defend him on the move rather than allowing him to basically wait for him by the basket.

I was actually quite stunned to hear Ewing say this.Figured he would give an old school answer and say yes they have to play bigger.I guess I shouldnt be too surprised since he did work for Stan Van Gundy in Orlando.

Really nothing positive to say about the game. I guess the play two bigs question that was posed in a thread over the weekend has been answered with a resounding NO based on this game. Tyson in the past has played Hibbert very well. But really that version of Tyson shows up maybe once every three games or for a minute or three a game these days.

Where did the making every shot he put up, 35+ streak, best Knick (not named Ewing) since Bernard King version of Carmelo Anthony go? The Knicks could sure use him. Woodson also might consider Copeland for at least a spell since the offense, in part, is designed to get an open look from three. At least will take it, whereas Kidd will Fields it and, to a lesser extent, so will Prigs. I wouldn’t play Copeland in crunch time but at least for a minutes a half.

Refs were as bad as I have seen. That Hansbourough fould on Melo would’ve easilty been a Flagrant 1 on most players let alone LeBron or Durant. They didnt even call it flagrant to review it. They called an offensive foul on Melo for going at Hibbert when Hibbert just fell down with very minimal contact. It was like Hibbert was Bill Russell in his Prime yesterday.

But that has been the Knicks biggest flaw all year, if they dont get calls, they crying is louder and louder and whistle never gets blown. I can think of 5 games off the top of my head that followed this script. Just play on. Gotta get game two.

Does anyone know if the game on Tuesday is on MSG? I dont think I can listen to Reggie Miller for 3 hours and have my tv come out in one piece.

Seriously, the guy has been shooting bricks for 7 games now, and has completely lost his ability to shoot 3 pointers (1 for his last 28) Unfortunately, I think it might take the long break between games 2 and 3 for him to get to 100%, so someone else (are you there JR, Tyson?) needs to step up tomorrow.

Seriously, the guy has been shooting bricks for 7 games now, and has completely lost his ability to shoot 3 pointers (1 for his last 28) Unfortunately, I think it might take the long break between games 2 and 3 for him to get to 100%, so someone else (are you there JR, Tyson?) needs to step up tomorrow.

ephus: Yes, but we need someone other than Danny Crawford making the calls…

‘Melo got until foul trouble in large part because he was not getting the whistle when he took the ball to the hole…

Final point, someone needs to get dropped from the series for the “inadvertent whistle” in the fourth quarter that cost the Knicks a turnover.

1. The officials called a game that stylistically favored Indy, but they were remarkably consistent. I’m disappointed that the Knicks (and Knick fans) focused almost solely on offense. 95 pts should be enough to beat Indy, or at least be a one possession game.

2. I will ride this point forever. DJ Augustine had a PREPOSTEROUS 2.67 PPS for 16 pts in just under 13 minutes. He hit 4 of their 8 triples. Those points were virtually free of charge. Every shot he took was almost completely unguarded.

3. The non-turnover was the right call. It just looked awkward. The clock hadn’t hit 15 on replay and the pass straddled the line. It wasn’t over and back. It looked bad but it was right. The larger point is that we should have been playing defense like that long beforehand.

4. NY was flat emotionally until the end. Not an excuse. It can happen with a quick turnaround. What emotion they had was displaced, focused on the officials. Pelton tweeted it best: at some point you have to decide whether you’re playing the other team or the officials.

5. After all that, Indy still only won by 7 and had to sweat it out at the end.

DCrockett17: 1. The officials called a game that stylistically favored Indy, but they were remarkably consistent. I’m disappointed that the Knicks (and Knick fans) focused almost solely on offense. 95 pts should be enough to beat Indy, or at least be a one possession game.

2. I will ride this point forever. DJ Augustine had a PREPOSTEROUS 2.67 PPS for 16 pts in just under 13 minutes. He hit 4 of their 8 triples. Those points were virtually free of charge. Every shot he took was almost completely unguarded.

3. The non-turnover was the right call. It just looked awkward. The clock hadn’t hit 15 on replay and the pass straddled the line. It wasn’t over and back. It looked bad but it was right. The larger point is that we should have been playing defense like that long beforehand.

4. NY was flat emotionally until the end. Not an excuse. It can happen with a quick turnaround. What emotion they had was displaced, focused on the officials. Pelton tweeted it best: at some point you have to decide whether you’re playing the other team or the officials.

5. After all that, Indy still only won by 7 and had to sweat it out at the end.

Could not be more wrong on the “inadvertent whistle”. The shot clock reached 15 and was not reset.

And “style” does not excuse failure to call forearms to the faces of Melo, JR and Chandler. It also does not explain how Melo was thrown into foul trouble on ridiculous offensive fouls or Chandler’s fifth foul.

Crawford deserves a Donahy-level review. I have never seen a single ref make so many bad calls that all went in one direction.

For all the complaints about fouls on Melo, the no-calls that bothered me the most were on the Pacers holding Chandler during box-outs. I felt it occurred time after time, where he couldn’t basically jump to try to get rebounds. That doesn’t excuse Chandler’s performance, but it seemed to happen quite a lot.